The Steelers got their preseason off to a rocky start Friday night as they lost 16-7 to the Redskins at FedEx Field. Starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played just one series and went 2 or 3 for 22 yards and dinged his hand and hip in the short time. Second year wide receiver Antonio Brown was one of the lone bright spots for the Steelers as he caught 4 balls for 64 yards.
Running back Isaac Redman scored the Steelers lone touchdown on a nice 22 yard inside run that included a nice downfield block by Brown. Redman finished with 42 yards on 5 carries.
The Steelers suffered a few early injuries to the secondary as Ike Taylor broke his left thumb and it could require surgery. Free safety Ryan Clark also left early with a stinger. The secondary was already short to start the game as starting strong safety Troy Polamalu and left cornerback Bryant McFadden both did not not play. Also sidelined were rookie cornerbacks Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen as well as backup safety Will Allen and outside linebacker James Harrison. Also injured on the night were cornerback Keenan Lewis with a left calf injury and defensive end Sunny Harris left with a right foot injury. Lawrence Timmons also was shaken up early in the game.
The defense did not play well as Redskins starting quarterback Rex Grossman went 19 of 26 for 207 yards and touchdown to Santana Moss. The Steelers dodged six more points as Redskins kicker Shayne Graham missed two first half field goals.
The Steelers starting offensive line consisted of left to right: Jonathan Scott, Doug Legursky, Maurkice Pouncey, Chris Scott and Willie Colon. Only Colon played noticeably well of the unit and C. Scott had some struggles, especially in pass protection.
Outside of Brown and maybe Redman, the other Steelers players that stuck out on the night were nose tackles Steve McLendon and Anthony Gray, linebackers Larry Foote, Stevenson Sylvester and Mortty Ivy. Rookie defensive ends Cameron Heyward and Corbin Bryant also had good efforts.
As far as players that had rough nights, receiver Arnaz Battle had 3 drops and second year linebacker Jason Worilds looked like he was still having to think instead of reacting naturally. Tight ends David Johnson and Weslye Saunders also had rough nights in the blocking game. The Steelers young secondary consisting of Lewis, Crezdon Butler and Donovan Warren also looked confused at times throughout the night.
The Steelers offense only put up 186 yards of offense while the Redskins put up 452.
More notes coming after I go back over the game later tonight.
